What’s New in Digital Marketing?

While traditional marketing efforts haven’t changed much in the last 15 years, digital marketing is constantly updating. There are so many new trends, algorithms, and best practices rolling out, it’s a full time job keeping up with it. Lucky for you, the Concept Marketing team always stays on the pulse of what’s new and what’s next. Here’s a quick recap to keep you in the loop with what’s new in digital marketing.

Augmented Reality Makes a Huge Leap with Pokemon GO

The explosion of the augmented reality game Pokemon GO has shown the world that virtual reality has the potential to change everything. The game’s creator Niantic blew the door open on the idea that users won’t share their data. By simply offering a game that users want to play, they’re more willing than ever to share their location data, and other key behavioral metrics.

Marketers and businesses quickly capitalized on the monetary gains that could come from participating in the game. Brick and mortar locations benefited the most, as the game offers new opportunities for local advertising. To learn more about how Pokemon GO can benefit your business, read our recent article.

Google Rolls Out Updates for Adwords

Google is updating its Adwords restrictions over the next few months. Advertisers have a small window of opportunity to A/B test the current standard Google text ads with the newly released expanded text ads. By October, standard ads will be eliminated all together. Expanded ads include two headlines instead of one, with each up to 30 characters long and a description of up to 80 characters. Google says that the additional text is meant to give mobile users more information. Google cited a 20% bump in click through rates during early testing of the expanded ads.

Tumblr Now Placing Ads, and Giving Bloggers a Cut of the Profits

Tumblr, which relies on its user base for published content, announced they’re giving their users a piece of the advertising pie. Publishers do have the option to opt out of having ads displayed on their content if they choose. The revenue percentage is still unknown at this point. What we do know is that Tumblr made a smart move to keep content quality high on the site.

Instagram Allows Profiles to Switch to Business Mode, Includes Analytics for First Time

The photo sharing network Instagram has finally rolled out the red carpet for businesses on the app. Any business can now switch their profile from personal to business in their profile settings. This switch allows the company’s contact information to be displayed prominently in the profile’s bio section. Most exciting of all, once a company switches to business mode, they have access to analytics on all future posts. From impressions and reach to most engaging content, it’s what many marketers have been waiting for. Time will tell if switching to a business profile will hurt a profile’s reach, as we’ve seen happen at Facebook over the last few years.

Twitter Adds More Live Sports to Streaming Schedule

Twitter announced that they will soon be airing one live major league baseball and hockey game once per week to anyone in the US for free. This goes along with their earlier announcement that some NFL games will be streamed starting this coming Fall. Of course with anything free, you can be sure to see a fair amount of ads during the stream. Twitter is also developing its own version of “SportsCenter” called “The Rally”. This live sports show will be streamed nightly, and will likely include highlight reels and commentator analysis like ESPN’s flagship program. But because it’s airing on a live, interactive platform, there’s be sure to be some new engaging elements thrown into the mix.